Four recently departed greats of the international racing scene

We all know you can't stop the march of time, but it's been a particularly bad month for European racing as some of Europe's leading exponents of training have said their farewells to this earth.

French-born Christophe Clément, training in the United States since the early nineties, succumbed to a rare form of cancer at the relatively tender age of 59. Born into a racing family, his apprenticeship to learn the trade was largely spent in the US and subsequently with Luca Cumani in Newmarket.

Tonalist produced his vintage moment when winning the 2014 Belmont, just one in a flurry of 41 Grade I US scalps. His son and assistant, Miguel, ensures the business continues in his absence.

Also in the US, D Wayne Lucas, who handed over his training licence last week, died earlier this week at the age of 89 from MRSA. He was the winner of the Kentucky Derby 4 times, with 20 victories at the Breeders' Cup too, a total only recently equalled by Aidan O'Brien with the weight of Coolmore behind him. Only last October, he became the oldest man to train a winner of the Preakness, the third of the US Classics, in Seize the Grey.

Until Lucas' innovation, the idea of shipping horses coast to coast in the States had largely been considered impractical, and horses on the West coast rarely met those on the East. That changed as the arch innovator found a way to compete in the high value purses at many of America's larger racetracks during the 80s and 90s.

This was just one example of the innovation he brought to the sport, influencing consignors in their yearling preparation, introducing white bridles for easy identification, and spawning a generation of younger handlers who have benefited from his generous nature and extensive experience.

In the UK, a similar school for young trainers and jockeys came about through the stables of retired trainers Peter Easterby in Yorkshire and Barry Hills in Lambourn. The pair came up against each other in the British flat calendar on numerous occasions, and both started with very little, working their way up from the bottom.

Peter Easterby, who founded a racing dynasty at Easingwold near York, became one of Britain's leading dual purpose trainers. Son of an amateur rider father, and with a trainer uncle, Easterby wasn't one to hide his own talent, embarking on his own at 21, although early success was slow to come to hand. It was to be 3 years before his first jumps winner, a further two before flat success.

However, that was to change as the stable became a powerhouse over jumps, and to be feared in the major handicaps. Without London or Middle Eastern money in support, Group success was rare, but the likes of Sea Pigeon, a versatile performer over obstacles and on the flat, had him well respected by punters and bookmakers alike.

He handed over the reins to son Tim in 1995, but kept a keen eye whilst managing the 3,000 acres he'd acquired from racing and trading cattle.

Barry Hills, who died last week, commanded the utmost respect at the very top of the Flat hierarchy, sending out nearly 3,200 winners from Lambourn over a career spanning over 40 years.

Launched on the back of an audacious betting coup with a horse named Frankincense in the 1968 Lincoln Handicap, Hills snapped at the heels of Messrs Stoute and Cecil in the British Trainers' Championship, without quite the strength in depth of owner-breeders needed to go the extra mile. Nevertheless, he won four of the five British Classics at least once, hitting the crossbar in the Derby four times with second placed Rheingold, Hawaiian Sound, Glacial Storm and Blue Stag.

Although not his natural metier, he also despatched Nomadic Way to win the Stayers Hurdle at Cheltenham in 1992.

Like Easterby, Hills fostered a learning culture that extended beyond his family. Of the three sons from his first marriage, Richard and Michael became top flight jockeys, John took over the training business in 2005 until his untimely death in 2014. A sone from his second marriage, Charlie, then took up the running of the impressive Faringdon Place in Lambourn.

But whilst current practitioners like Owen Burrows and Chris Wall and former licence holders like Michael Blanshard and Peter Chapple-Hyam stand testament to his eye for human talent, he may best be remembered for luring one Steve Cauthen to ride in Britain back in 1977. The "Kentucky Kid" had hit a brick wall in his stateside career, and was introduced to the British scene by Hills, leading to three Champion Jockey titles.

Any history of the Turf, whatever your jurisdiction, should include all four of these greats, whose eye for a horse has made our racing days so much more exciting.